


Detente

by IdrisTardis7878



Category: NCIS: Los Angeles
Genre: Gen, Sort Of, at first, i.e. between deep trouble 2 and inelegant heart, it does not go well, kensi tries to make amends with talia over the headbutting, set between 6x01 and 6x02, talia and kensi friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-06
Updated: 2018-12-06
Packaged: 2019-09-12 22:46:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16880682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IdrisTardis7878/pseuds/IdrisTardis7878
Summary: After the events of Deep Trouble 2, Kensi attempts to make amends with Talia over the headbutting incident. It does not go well at first - will she need a do-over on her do-over or will things between them start to change for the better?Detente - (noun)  the easing of hostility or strained relations.





	Detente

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on tumblr June 5, 2015. Original author's note here:
> 
> A/N: Well…this is the ficlet I mentioned in the note before “Foundering,” that is semi-related to that one. Think of it as a loose follow up, taking place sometime between that fic and the beginning of Inelegant Heart. I originally envisioned a very mature, feelsy, bonding between these two…but they didn’t want to cooperate and this is where things went instead. I do think they manage to find some sort of accord by the end though. Hope you all enjoy!!

“I didn’t think you’d really call me,” Talia’s voice cut briskly through the coffee shop’s lively Saturday morning chatter, startling Kensi into looking up just as the other woman slid into the seat across from her. “I was kind of surprised.”

“Oh,” Kensi said, leaning back in her chair and thumbing at the cardboard holder that was wrapped around her cup. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Talia shrugged. “Thought you were just being polite,” she said frankly, taking a sip of her own coffee before leaning back in her chair, almost mirroring Kensi’s pose. “I know we sorta made nice as things went on, but we both know we didn’t get off on the right foot.” She paused, a slight smirk curling the corner of her mouth. “Or head.”

Kensi winced, then nodded, albeit a bit reluctantly. “Yeah, well that’s actually why I  _did_  call. A lot of what happened was my fault, and I,” she paused for a moment. The next words, no matter how true they were, were embarrassingly difficult for her to say. “I, uh, owe you an apology. Especially for the head…thing,” she gestured vaguely between their foreheads, hoping that she wouldn’t have to talk about that part of their previous encounter any further.

The other woman didn’t respond immediately, taking another long sip of her drink before setting the cup down carefully and looking at Kensi skeptically. “Do you really mean that?” she asked, arching her brow at Kensi. “’Cause you kinda sound like you’re not too sure.”

Kensi bristled a little. “Of  _course_ I mean it,” she muttered. “But, you know, I wasn’t the only one making a fool of myself the other day,” she looked at Talia meaningfully, hoping the other woman would make a reciprocal apology, but if she understood what Kensi was getting at, she purposefully chose to ignore it.

“Yeah, you’re right about that, actually,” Talia’s tone was mock pensive. “Your partner was having a bit of a tough time stringing two sentences together while you were off trying not to get your butt wet.” The other woman smirked at Kensi, making it clear that she  _had_ missed the point on purpose. Her eyebrow arched again as if silently challenging Kensi to call her on it, but Kensi had had enough.

She stood abruptly, pushing her chair back with enough force that the legs made an unpleasant screeching noise as they skidded across the floor tiles. “You know what? This was a bad idea. Horrible, actually. Obviously we  _don’t_ get along, and we’re not going to. I  _am_ sorry for hitting you - that was unprofessional - but I think I’d better go.” Despite having barely spent any time there, she left the table without so much as a backward glance, not allowing Talia to get a word in edgewise.

She’d made it out of the coffee shop and halfway across the parking lot towards her car before she heard Talia calling after her. “Nothing happened,” the other woman said, pitching her voice loudly enough that it rang out clearly in the not insignificant space between them.

“What?” Kensi snapped, turning to face her, but making no move to step back towards the coffee shop. “What are you talking about?”

Talia shook her head slightly before pushing off the door frame of the shop and striding across the lot. When she was a few steps away from where Kensi stood, she repeated herself. “Nothing happened,” she said firmly, “between me and your partner. Not while you were away, not since you’ve been back, not  _ever_. So are we good?” After a swelling pause in which she clearly was waiting for Kensi to say something, but Kensi was having trouble stringing a coherent response together, Talia shook her head again before rolling her eyes. “Yeah…you know what? Maybe you were right. Maybe this  _was_ a mistake.”

She’d already turned to walk towards her own car when Kensi finally found her voice. “How…how does that have anything to do with anything?” 

That stopped Talia in her tracks and the other woman actually laughed in disbelief as she turned around. “You’re kidding, right? That has everything to do with…well,  _everything_ ,” she said, gesturing expansively between them. “The twitchy way he was acting when I got to the scene, the not-so-subtle hair trick you pulled,” she ticked things off on her fingers as she listed them, gaining momentum as she went. “The damn headbutting.” She shook her head, huffing out an exasperated breath. “I know jealousy when I see it…and yeah, I had a little fun messing with you both over that, and for that I  _am_ sorry. That was unprofessional of  _me_ \- but really? Do neither of you see it? Seriously?”

Kensi crossed her arms and turned to face Talia fully. “I’m  _not_ jealous,” she insisted, her voice low, but firm, persisting even when Talia rolled her eyes. “At least not in the way you meant.” She didn’t quite know if she had the words to explain that it wasn’t romantic jealousy that was at the root of her irritation with the other woman, but rather that persistent feeling of having missed so much time with Deeks while others got to take her place as his partner. (She also wasn’t sure that she quite believed herself about it not being romantic jealousy, but she wasn’t going to examine that too closely at the moment).

Talia opened her mouth, presumably to ask Kensi to explain, when the blaring of a car horn cut across their conversation. They both startled slightly, stepping out of the way of the car that was moving through the parking lot, the driver clearly annoyed with them both if the hand gesture he graced them with was any indication.

Kensi bit her lip, taking a moment to breathe deeply and try to remember the reasons why she’d asked Talia to meet her today in the first place. She really  _had_ wanted to make amends with the other agent.  _But you also **did** want to try to find out more about what happened with her and the team…with her and Deeks…while you were in Afghanistan_, a little voice in the back of her mind piped up.  _You just didn’t plan on doing it by storming out of a cafe and causing a scene._ She frowned, wondering for what felt like the millionth time, why the self-control she’d always prided herself on had seemingly begun to slip lately. 

She ran a hand through her hair before forcing herself to exhale slowly and calmly. “Look…today was supposed to be a do-over for what happened on that mission. Any chance we could get a do-over on the do-over?”

Talia simply looked at her appraisingly for a long moment, before huffing out a laugh and shaking her head. “What the hell. Third time’s the charm, right?”

“Yeah, well, let’s hope for that instead of the alternative.” Kensi cracked a small smile at that as they began to walk back towards the coffee shop.

“Which is?” Talia asked, glancing curiously at her as they reached the door.

Kensi’s smile slipped a bit as she swung the door open and they re-entered the shop. “Three strikes and you’re out.”


End file.
